1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to pneumatic tires, and in particular to pneumatic tires for small passenger vehicles having good steering characteristics by improving the bead construction of the tire.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The bead core of the bead portion of a pneumatic tire has a function of locating and fixing textile or steel cords of a carcass ply and a function of determining the internal periphery of the tire body and engaging the tire with a wheel rim.
Thus, the bead core is a very important component part in a pneumatic tire, and various kinds of constructions of bead core have been proposed. For example, as shown in FIG. 5 of the accompanying drawings, it is well known to construct a bead core 10 by winding a strip 11 of wire-rubber matrix made of one row of several wires 12 buried in rubber 13. The cross-sectional configuration of such a bead core is shown in FIG. 6.
However, in manufacturing a pneumatic tire having the above-mentioned bead core obtained by winding a strip of wire-rubber matrix or other conventional bead core, the rows and lines of the wire-rubber matrix tend to fall into disorder during tire building and curing, and it is very difficult to maintain uniformity of tires in circumferential and longitudinal directions. Consequently, the steering characteristics (maneuverability) of the tires thus manufactured are adversely affected.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a pneumatic tire for small passenger vehicles having improved steering characteristics (maneuverability) by restraining the disorder of uniformity of tires in the circumferential and longitudinal directions.